Family in concert 1972 and 1973 Newcastle Mayfair and Newcastle City Hall
Family were a great favourite with rock fans in the North East of England. They came up here a lot in the late 60s and early 70s, playing Sunderland Bay Hotel, Newcastle Mayfair, Sunderland Locarno and other local venues. As I posted yesterday when writing about Roger Chapman, back in those days, if you asked anyone in the North East their favourite live band, my guess is that they would choose a band like Family who regularly played in local ballrooms and put on a great live show. In Sunderland the answer would have been Free, Family, and possibly Stray or Edgar Broughton. The first time I got to see Family was at Newcastle Mayfair in June 1972. I have very vague memories of them playing a gig at Silksworth Youth club in the late 60s, and standing outside listening, as I was too young to get in. The gig definitely happened, but my standing outside may well be a figment of my imagination. Thanks to Barry for his memories of the Silksworth Youth Club gig: “A couple of vague memories. Roger Chapman was wearing bright red trousers. When the group had a break a girl asked Chapman if they did any “Soul” music. No, was Rogers brusque reply. If I remember correctly the leader of the new youth club was a guy called Clive. He wanted to put Silksworth Youth Club on the map as music venue. Happy days..”. Back to that gig in 1973. I queued outside the Mayfair to get in early and get a good spot in front of the stage. Support came from Audience, featuring Howard Werth who, like Roger Chapman, has his own vocal and musical style. Their album, “House on the Hill” is a classic of the period. Listen to the track “You’re Not Smiling” and you’ll see what I mean. Family were great that night. Roger Chapman sang in his usual unique style, with lots of vocal and mike stand gymnastics; but what really struck my was the way that he engaged, and interacted with the audience. It was like he was meeting a group of old mates. Most of the crowd had clearly seen the band before, and there seemed to be some private joke between Roger and some of the crowd, starting with the crowd asking “What about the workers, Roger?”. The other thing, that sticks in my memory is Poli Palmer’s vibraphone; I hadn’t seen or heard anything like it before. 
By the following year Family had sadly decided to call it a day, and the next time I saw them was during their farewell tour, at Newcastle City Hall. The line up had changed (again) by the time of that gig, and the atmosphere in the City Hall was great, but tinged with sadness. Support came from Phillip Goodhand-Tait. Chapman was once again the focal point of the evening. I recall sensing as we walked out of the hall, that everyone was upset that they would not see this great band again. Family’s music was a strange and unique mix of rock, psychedelia and r&b. Singles such as The Weaver’s Answer, In My Own Time, and Burlesque were great favourites in the ballrooms of the time, the dancefloor always filling with lots of hippy dancers. Unlike many bands of that era, Family have never reformed; however Chappo continues to play (he has just announced a Christmas gig at the Y theatre is his hometown Leicester) and his set often includes several Family songs. Its a few year since I’ve seen Roger in concert (will blog on recent gigs tomorrow), but recent reports suggest that his voice remains as strong as ever.
Posts Tagged ‘R&B’
17 Jun
Family in concert 1972 and 1973 Newcastle Mayfair and Newcastle City Hall
16 Jun
Roger Chapman Streetwalkers Newcastle City Hall 1977
Roger Chapman Streetwalkers Newcastle City Hall 1977
Roger Chapman is often forgotten these days. In my eyes he is a major figure in English rock music and has one of the most unique rock voices. Back in the early 70s, if you asked anyone in the North East their favourite live band, my guess is that they would choose a band who regularly played in local ballrooms and put on a great live show. In Sunderland the answer would have been Free, Family, and possibly Stray or Edgar Broughton. I saw Family a couple of times in the early days, and I’ll blog on that in a day or so. By the mid 70s Family were no more, and Roger Chapman was fronting Streetwalkers, along with Family compatriot Charlie Whitney. 
I saw Streetwalkers a few times: once at the very rainy Buxton 74 Festival, again at Reading 74, supporting The Who at Charlton in 1976, and at this gig at the City Hall in 1977. The Buxton gig was particularly memorable for one thing. Rain poured down the whole weekend, but when Chapman and Whitney sang Family’s My Friend the Sun, the sun came peeping out through the clouds, as if by magic, to a great roar from the festival crowd. 
It was a moment that anyone who was there will remember. I was there with my mate Gillie, and John was there with Susan; we were just talking about that special moment the other week. I also went to this Newcastle gig with Marie. I remember the City Hall being about half full; I guess by that point in time Chappo and his Streetwalkers were beginning to go out of fashion, particularly with punk coming along. The Streetwalkers always delivered a great set of rock with Chapman’s voice and stage presence being like no other. He would talk the crowd as if he knew them, and perhaps in some cases, he did. By 1977 the set featured tracks from their 1970s lps, with one or two Family songs thrown in for good measure. There was then a big gap, where I didn’t see Roger Chapman at all, which was a mistake on my part. I’ll report on some more recent gigs, however, in the next day or so.
15 Jun
Leonard Cohen Newcastle City Hall 1976
Leonard Cohen Newcastle City Hall 1976
This was the first time I saw Leonard Cohen, and it was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to. I’d gone along with my mate Ian having heard some of Cohen’s early albums. John and Susan were also at this gig. I went along with an open mind; I quite liked some of Cohen’s songs, and had the usual image in my mind of a quiet guy singing dark, depressive songs. The show was just a revelation to me. The beauty of the songs, the clarity and quiet passion of Cohen’s delivery and the musicianship of his band all shoen through that night. This gig was part of a European tour to promote the Best of Leonard Cohen album, and Cohen was backed by a new band that included Laura Branigan as one of two back up singers. 
I left the gig as a convert, and waited to get the chance to see Cohen again, which didn’t happen until very recently. He has never returned to Newcastle and his visits to the UK have been few and far between until recent years. Setlist from 1976: Bird on the Wire; So Long, Marianne; Who By Fire; Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye; Store Room; One of Us Cannot Be Wrong; Lady Midnight; There Is a War; I Tried to Leave You; Diamonds in the Mine; Chelsea Hotel; The Stranger Song; You Know Who I Am; The Partisan; Story of Isaac; Famous Blue Raincoat; Lover Lover Lover; Sisters of Mercy; Is This What You Wanted; Suzanne; The Butcher; Bird on the Wire; Tonight Will Be Fine; Joan of Arc; Do I Have To Dance All Night. Looking at the setlist today, I realise just how many classic songs this guy has written.
14 Jun
Cinderella and Slaughter Newcastle City Hall 1991
Cinderella and Slaughter Newcastle City Hall 1991
My mate Dave and I were quite into heavy rock in the 80s, and we went to see a lot of the American bands who came over and played in the North East. We’d seen Cinderella low on the bill at Donington Monsters of Rock a few years earlier. This tour was at the time of the Heartbreak Station album. Proper heavy rock stuff this. Big hair cuts, loud heavy rock. Great stuff. Support came from Slaughter. Found a setlist: The More Things Change; Push Push; Sick for the Cure; Make Your Own Way; Night Songs; Back Home Again; Somebody Save Me; One for Rock and Roll; Heartbreak Station; Coming Home; Fallin’ Apart At The Seams; Love’s Got Me Doin’ Time; Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone); Nobody’s Fool; Gypsy Road; Shake Me; Dead Man’s Road; Shelter Me; Brown Sugar
13 Jun
Curved Air 70s gigs and great memories of Sonja Kristina in concert
Curved Air 70s gigs
I believe that the bands that you see when you are young shape your musical tastes for the rest of life. Curved Air are one of those bands for me. I first saw them at Newcastle City Hall in 1971, and was mesmerised by them in many different ways. Their mix of classical music, folk and electronic sounds was quite unique, Sonja Kristina was just stunning on stage, and the musicianship of Darryl Way on violin and Francis Monkman on moog synthesiser was outstanding. And they had great songs: the hit single “Back Street Luv”, “Marie Antoinette”, the beautiful and haunting “Melinda (More or Less)”, their first single “It Happened Today”, and the set closer “Vivaldi” during which Daryl Way went wild with his electric violin. 
Support at that 1971 gig came from Irish band Skid Row, not to be confused with the American heavy rock band of the 80s. I’d seen the bluesy Skid Row a few months before in Sunderland Locarno, with the young Gary Moore on guitar (he just blew me away: I went home and practised and practised). However, by the time of this gig Gary had been replaced by Paul Chapman. Brush Sheils was the bass player and front man of Skid Row; his name coming from his big brush of hair. He sported a persplex bass and was totally crazy on stage: a real wild guy. I then saw Curved Air play a great set on the Friday night of the 1972 Reading Festival where they headlined over Genesis and Mungo Jerry. 
They came onstage late, around midnight by which time we were all sitting on the grass, waiting in the cold night. Their set was just amazing that night. Sonja sang those lovely songs over the evening mist, and brought the first night of the festival to a lovely end. From then on I saw Curved Air almost any and every time that they played in the North East. I remember gigs at Newcastle Mayfair, Newcastle Poly, Sunderland Poly and Durham Students Union. 
I recall Marie and I turning up at a sold out Freshers Ball at Teesside Poly one night and managing somehow to blag our way in to the hall (backhander to the doorman methinks). I saw them again at the City Hall in 1976. I think I may have seen them at Redcar Bowl. There were probably other gigs that I don’t remember; Curved Air played a lot in those days and must have been up and down the motorway playing Student Union dances most weekends. Over the years the line up changed (a lot). At one point local guy Eddie Jobson joined on violin. Jobson was a young and extremely talented multi-instrumentalist who I’d seen several times at Sunderland Locarno, playing in Hartlepool (or was it Peterlee?) band Fat Grapple. Fat Grapple were great, its a shame no recorded material of the band from that era exists. 
Along the way Stewart Copeland, who was to become Sonja’s husband and later of The Police, joined on drums, and Darryl Way returned to the fold. The one constant factor throughout that period was Sonja Kristina. I can picture her now, commanding the stage, top hat on her head and a cape around her shoulders, belting out Back Street Luv. 
Great nights. Can I go back there please? I’ve seen Curved Air a couple of times in recent years, at Holmfirth Picturedrome and at Glastonbury, and the magic is still there; for me anyway. Thanks to John for finding a signed 1971 programme on ebay for me, and for sending me an image of an early 70s poster (also bought on ebay; see scans).
12 Jun
Climax Blues Band 1976 Gold Plated gigs
I had the pleasure of seeing The Climax Blues Band a few times in the 70s. They guaranteed a good night of quality blues, with front men Colin Cooper on vocals, saxophone, harmonica, and guitar, and Pete Haycock on vocals and guitar. The rest of the line-up in those days was Derek Holt on bass, John Cuffley on drums, and Richard Jones on keyboards. A group of us went to see the band at Durham Students Union in Dunelm House and at Redcar Coatham Bowl. 
The band hit the charts in 1976 with “Couldn’t Get It Right” which got to No 10 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for 9 weeks. The programme below was for a tour promoting the “Gold Plated” lp which was released in 1976. Incredibly, this was their 9th lp. They have released 18 albums to date, the first dating from 1969 when they were known as The Climax Blues Band. A recent live CD was recorded at a gig at Nottingham University in 1976, on the Gold Plated tour. I would guess the set that we saw at Durham and Redcar would be similar. In that case it may have consisted of: Together And Free/Amerita/Sense of Direction; Running Out of TIme/Good TIme Blues; Mighty Fire; Country Hat/Come On In My Kitchen; Seventh Son; Couldn’t Get It Right; Chasing Change; Using The Power; Goin’ To New York; All The Time In The World/Get Back. Encore Medley: Hey Mama/Let The Good Times Roll/Who Killed McSwiggin/Get Into That Rock ‘n’ Roll. 
CLimax Blues Band are still playing to this day, although the line up has changed many times over the years, and has no original members. From their website: “Founded in the 60’s, by Colin Cooper, Climax Blues Band has always focused on its roots, a unique combination of jazz and blues. After 18 albums and the classic world-wide hit “Couldn’t Get It Right” and tours of the UK, Europe and the US, Climax Blues Band is back on the road again and still playing the blues in a creative way that has always been synonymous with their name.”
PS. Writing this post made me realise that I didn’t have any Climax Blues Band lps, so I went online and bought a copy of the “Gold Plated” album for £2!. It arrived this morning and I played straight away. It still sounds great after all these years. Now do I go and buy the other 17 albums?……
11 Jun
Bon Jovi Monsters of Rock Donington 1987
Bon Jovi Monsters of Rock Donington 1987
Support Acts: Dio, Mettalica, Anthrax, WASP
I attended quite a few of the Monsters of Rock festivals at Donington during the 1980s, usually with my mate Dave. I was lucky enough to win tickets from the local paper a couple of times, including this event in 1987. The line-up was pretty strong with headliner Bon Jovi supported by Dio, Mettalica and a couple of other bands. Dave and I had seen Bon Jovi at Monsters of Rock a couple of years earlier; this time they were back as headliner, and put on a great show, warranting their major league status.
Dio played a set which consisted of solo songs, and a few Sabbath and Rainbow tracks. Mettalica had not, in my view, reached their peak at this stage; that was to come later with the release of the Black album. Bon Jovi setlist: Pink Flamingos; Raise Your Hands; I’d Die for You; Tokyo Road; You Give Love a Bad Name; Wild in the Streets; Not Fade Away; Never Say Goodbye; Livin’ on a Prayer; Let It Rock / We Will Rock You; Get Ready; Runaway; Wanted Dead or Alive; Drift Away; Travelin’ Band (joined by Paul Stanley, Bruce Dickinson and Dee Snider); We’re An American Band
9 Jun
The Groundhogs York Fibbers 8 June 2012
The Groundhogs York Fibbers 8 June 2012
Laura and I decided at the last minute to go and see The Groundhogs in York last night. We arrived in time to catch support act Dan Hudson who was delivering a good solid set of blues. We also found time to pop over the road to the Black Swan where the York fold weekend was in full swing in a marquee in the carpark. The Groundhogs took the stage at 9.30 starting with “No more dogging”. As those of us who follow the band know, Tony had a stroke a couple of years ago which affected his speech, and as a result his wife and singing partner Joanna Deacon had joined the band and taken on the vocal duties. Having said that Tony sang two songs himself last night, the first being “Eccentric man”, with Tony making sterling efforts on the verses, with Joanna coming in the help out with the chorus. A pretty good version. Next the volume and pace were lowered for the beautiful “Garden” from the “Thank Christ for the Bomb” album. Tony started the song which some lovely understated guitar, and Joanna handled the vocals admirably. Tony sang old blues favourite “Still a fool” from “Scratching the Surface” next, including a great guitar solo. Joanna explained how the “cool kids’ at school would walk around with the “Split” lp under their arm, and admitted that she was a Slade fan at the time. This introduced “Split Part 1” which is always one of my favourites, followed by “Split Part 2”, during which Tony made extensive use of the whammy bar, to the extent that his guitar was quite out of tune by the end of the song. Joanna’s dancing became particularly manic and bizarre at this point! Side 1 of the album was (almost) completed by “Split Part 4”. Then it was back to the blues with “Natchez burning”. Next came “Strange town” which was a great surprise; I don’t recall seeing the band play this in recent times. Then, moving towards the end of the set, “Mistreated” from “Blues Obituary” brought back memories of early 70s gigs, where it was often the set opener. The set finished with “Cherry Red”. Encore was “Down in the bottom”. Fibbers club was pretty full, and the crowd gave the band a very warm and friendly reception. Its always good to see the Groundhogs, and everyone last night clearly holds a lot of affection for Tony in particular. Joanna fits well in the band, and whereas a couple of years ago I found the idea of her taking on vocal duties a little surprising, I know think it feels natural. Its great that she has been able to do this and thus help keep the band on the road. Joanna explained that regular bass player Dave Anderson was not well. His place was taken by Steve Cook, who had stepped in at short notice and did a great job. Drummer Carl Stokes sported a massive gong which he used to close the set. A great night, which Laura and I both enjoyed. The Groundhogs, finished at 11pm, and we were home by 12.30am. When we got back David told me that I needed to be up early to take him to Middlesbrough for 9am, as he was picking up a lift there to a school friends wedding in Penrith. So not much sleep for me last night! Oh well, it was worth it to see Tony again.
8 Jun
Bread (David Gates)
Bread (David Gates)
Bread have some pretty top songs. I remember being very excited about getting the chance to see them when they came to Newcastle City Hall in 1978. Marie and I went along and were just overwhelmed by those beautiful songs: “Make It with You”, “Everything I Own”, “Baby I’m-a Want You”, “If”, “Guitar Man”; each one a classic. The band were back again in 1980. Looking back at the tickets form those gigs tells its own story. The 1978 gig was billed as “David Gates and Bread”. However, by 1980 the ticket read: “David Gates, Larry Knechtel, Michael Botts and guests”. 
This was as a result of a dispute over use of the name “Bread”. The truth is that all of those great songs were written by David Gates, so as long as David was in the line up a great concert was guaranteed. 
David continues as a solo artist and came to Newcastle Tyne Theatre around 10 years ago. The concert was good, and covered all the classics as anticipated, although David’s set was quite short (and the tickets relatively expensive).
7 Jun
Chuck Berry 1973 and 1977
Chuck Berry 1973 and 1977
Chuck Berry is of course, a legend and just keeps on going. I have been lucky enough to see him in concert four times (as far as I remember!), three times in the 70s and more recently at the Maryport Blues festival a few years ago. The first time I saw Chuck was at Newcastle City Hall in 1973. He had just returned to the charts with the fun (but pretty naff) My Ding-a-Ling which was recorded live during his 1972 UK tour at a show in Coventry. 
Chuck has never been one to play long shows, his concerts usually running to around one hour. However, he always manages to pack plenty of hits into that time and is a great show man, with his signature duck walk. Chuck toured the UK pretty regularly in those days, and the next time I saw him was at a gig at Sunderland Empire, in 1977. Once again he put on a short, but great show, with lots of teds dancing in the aisles. I also saw Chuck perform at the (infamous and very wet) 1973 Buxton festival. 
That gig was memorable because the Hells Angels were present in droves, and took charge of the festival. Several Hells Angels took to the stage during Chuck’s set and I remember him dancing with them. He seemed completely unphased by the situation, unlike several other bands on the bill who left without playing, as they were wary of the Angels.A typical 70s set list for Chuck Berry would be something like: Maybellene; Rock and Roll Music; School Days; Roll Over Beethoven; Nadine; No Particular Place to Go; Sweet Little Sixteen; My Ding-a-Ling; Reelin’ and Rockin’; Johnny B. Goode.
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